Abstract
Coral reefs are tropical shallow water ecosystems largely restricted to the seas between the latitudes of 30°N and 30°S. The exact extent of coral reefs in the world is unknown and is very difficult to estimate/Smith (1978) has calculated that there are 600,000km2 of reefs to a depth of 30m. About 60% of this total occurs in the Indian Ocean region; approximately 14% in the Caribbean, 13% in the South Pacific (including eastern Australia) and 12% in the North Pacific (including the Galapagos and west coast of North America). The remaining 1 % is divided between the South Atlantic and the Eastern Pacific. The map in Fig. 23.1 shows the general location of the coral reef systems of the world.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bourlière, F. and Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. 1989. Species diversity in tropical vertebrates: an ecosystem perspective. In: Harmelin-Vivien, M.L. and Bourlière, F. (Eds), Vertebrates in Complex Tropical Systems. Springer-Verlag, New York.
IUCN/UNEP/WWF 1980. World Conservation Strategy:living resource conservation for sustainable development. IUCN/UNEP/WWF, Gland, Switzerland.
Smith, S.V. 1978. Coral reef area and contributions of reefs to processes and resources of the world’s oceans. Nature 273:225.
Stoddart, D.R. 1969. Ecology and morphology of recent coral reefs. Biological Review Cambridge Philosophical Society 44:433–498.
UNEP/IUCN (1988a). Coral Reefs of the World. Vol. 1:Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. 373pp., 38 maps.
UNEP/IUCN (1988b). Coral Reefs of the World. Vol. 2:Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. 389pp., 36 maps.
UNEP/IUCN (1988c). Coral Reefs of the World. Vol. 3:Central and Western Pacific. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. 329pp., 30 maps.
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Groombridge, B. (1992). Coral Reefs. In: Groombridge, B. (eds) Global Biodiversity. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2282-5_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2282-5_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5012-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2282-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive